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1881 Major League Baseball season

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This article is about the 1881 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1881 in baseball.
1881 MLB season
LeagueNational League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationApril 30 – September 30, 1881
Number of games84
Number of teams8
Pennant winner
NL championsChicago White Stockings
  NL runners-upProvidence Grays
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1881 National League season
National League

The 1881 Major League baseball season was contested from April 30 through September 30, 1881, and saw the Chicago White Stockings as the pennant winner of the sixth season of the National League. There was no postseason.

The 1881 season is most known for featuring the first major league grand slam.[a] Roger Connor of the Troy Trojans hit the walk-off home run at Riverside Park (Greenbush) against the Worcester Worcesters on September 10, leading to an 8–7 victory.[1]

Over the off-season, the National League dropped the Cincinnati Stars due to the team refusing to sign a league pledge that banned alcohol in league parks and forbidding clubs from renting their parks out on Sundays. The team was replaced by the Detroit Wolverines.

1881 would be the final season of the first National League monopoly-era, as the American Association would be established in 1882.

Schedule

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See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1881 schedule consisted of 84 games for all eight teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other seven teams in the league. This continued the format put in place since 1879 and would be used until 1883.

Opening Day took place on April 30 featuring four teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring all eight teams.[2]

Rule changes

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The 1881 season saw the following rule changes:

  • The pitching distance from the front of the pitcher's box to the center of home base from 45 feet to 50 feet.[3]
  • The number of "fair balls" the batter could choose to take without lowering the number of "unfair balls" in a base on balls was reduced from four to three.[3]
  • Temporary substitute runners were prohibited.[3]
  • Runners were now required to return to their occupied base or risk being putout:[3]
    • Before the umpire called time on any play.
    • When a foul ball was not ruled an out and returned to the pitcher.
  • Umpires must now use their best judgement on the legitimacy of a catch by a fielder, whereas previously, an umpire could take the testimony of bystanders nearest the player attempting the catch to make his decision.[3]

Teams

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An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager[4]
National League Boston Red Caps Boston, Massachusetts South End Grounds 3,000 Harry Wright
Buffalo Bisons Buffalo, New York Riverside Park (Buffalo) Unknown Jim O'Rourke
Chicago White Stockings Chicago, Illinois Lakefront Park 5,000 Cap Anson
Cleveland Blues Cleveland, Ohio National League Park Unknown Mike McGeary
John Clapp
Detroit Wolverines Detroit, Michigan Recreation Park Unknown Frank Bancroft
Providence Grays Providence, Rhode Island Messer Street Grounds 6,000 Jack Farrell
Tom York
Troy Trojans Lansingburgh, New York Haymakers' Grounds Unknown Bob Ferguson
Greenbush, New York[A] Riverside Park (Greenbush)* Unknown*
Worcester Worcesters Worcester, Massachusetts Agricultural County Fair Grounds Unknown Mike Dorgan
Harry Stovey
  1. ^
    In today's Rensselaer.

Standings

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National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago White Stockings 56 28 .667 — 32‍–‍10 24‍–‍18
Providence Grays 47 37 .560 9 23‍–‍20 24‍–‍17
Buffalo Bisons 45 38 .542 10½ 25‍–‍16 20‍–‍22
Detroit Wolverines 41 43 .488 15 23‍–‍19 18‍–‍24
Troy Trojans 39 45 .464 17 24‍–‍18 15‍–‍27
Boston Red Caps 38 45 .458 17½ 19‍–‍22 19‍–‍23
Cleveland Blues 36 48 .429 20 20‍–‍22 16‍–‍26
Worcester Worcesters 32 50 .390 23 19‍–‍22 13‍–‍28

Managerial changes

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Off-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Buffalo Bisons Sam Crane Jim O'Rourke
Cincinnati Stars John Clapp Team folded
Cleveland Blues Jim McCormick Mike McGeary
Providence Grays Mike Dorgan Jack Farrell
Worcester Worcesters Frank Bancroft Mike Dorgan

In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Cleveland Blues Mike McGeary John Clapp
Providence Grays Jack Farrell Tom York
Worcester Worcesters Mike Dorgan Harry Stovey

League leaders

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Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.

National League

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Hitting leaders[5]
Stat Player Total
AVG Cap Anson (CHI) .399
OPS Cap Anson (CHI) .952
HR Dan Brouthers (BUF) 8
RBI Cap Anson (CHI) 82
R George Gore (CHI) 86
H Cap Anson (CHI) 137
Pitching leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
W Larry Corcoran (CHI)
Jim Whitney (BOS) 		31
L Jim Whitney (BOS) 33
ERA George Weidman (DET) 1.80
K George Derby (DET) 212
IP Jim Whitney (BOS) 552.1
SV Bobby Mathews (BOS/PRO) 2
WHIP George Weidman (DET) 1.043

Notes

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  1. ^ Charlie Gould of the 1871 Boston Red Stockings of the National Association (NA) hit a grand slam, the NA is not considered a major league by Major League Baseball.

References

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  1. ^ Husman, John R. "September 10, 1881: Roger Connor's 'ultimate' grand slam – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  2. ^ "1881 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e Pajot, Dennis. "1880 Winter Meetings: 'The Most Harmonious of all the League Meetings' – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  4. ^ "1881 Major League Baseball Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "1881 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "1881 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
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